The mission of the Outdoor
Laboratory takes its direction from the mission of Westminster College. The
Outdoor Laboratory for Biological and Environmental Sciences comprises three
facilities: the Field Station, Brittain Lake, and the College Woods.
Together and separately they support and augment the philosophy and purposes
of Westminster College. Westminster’s quest for excellence is a recognition
that stewardship of life mandates the maximum possible development of each
person’s capabilities. The Outdoor Laboratory thus realizes its mission in
men and women who:

- develop intellectual curiosity
and the competencies to reason logically and evaluate critically;

- acquire a knowledge and
appreciation of the natural world;

- develop and demonstrate moral
and ethical commitments to society, and the natural world;

- commit themselves to lifelong
learning and responsible service as world citizens.

The Outdoor Laboratory endeavors
to fulfill its mission through curricular, co-curricular, and community
learning programs.

Curriculum

Biology and environmental science curricula are directly enhanced by this
facility but, in actuality, every segment of Westminster College’s
curriculum has the potential of benefiting from short and longer term
involvement. Summer teaching and study workshops are encouraged.

Research

Student and faculty investigations are integral to the mission of the Field
Station. Some of these research ventures are short-term, others are
long-term.

Community service and
environmental awareness

As a rural college,
Westminster College has both opportunity and obligation to extend an
invitation to local/regional schools, service clubs, and organizations to
work and to learn about ecology and environmental science. Programs of
“teaching by doing” have potential for enhancing the lives of friends of the
College as well as contributing to the facility.

Objectives

Educational Objectives

- To increase knowledge about
biology and environmental science by engaging the academic community in
critical thinking and creative scholarship.

- To promote collaborative
learning among faculty and students in biology, environmental science, and
other disciplines.

- To provide students with a
foundation of knowledge that prepares them for further study and active
participation in biological and environmental professions;

- To foster students'
critical-thinking, observational, and investigational skills and to involve
students in the use of investigational methods to develop and evaluate
ecological concepts and theories.

- To promote understanding of
the stewardship of resources through the application of the scientific
method and to provide students with an understanding of organisms and
ecosystems sufficient to insure informed participation in society;

- Develop within students an
appreciation of life, including an understanding of a conservation ethic and
a feeling of responsibility toward living things.

- To develop long-term projects
that can be incorporated into curricula and research at the College.

Scholarship and
Research Objectives

- To foster initiative and
independence in scientific inquiry and to promote original scholarship and
research by Westminster College faculty and students.

- To encourage interdisciplinary
scholarship and research and to promote collaborative studies with
individuals from private businesses, government organizations, and other
academic departments and institutions.

- To secure intramural and
extramural funding in support of original scholarship and research.

- To disseminate the results of
student and faculty scholarship and research in appropriate media, including
conferences and peer-reviewed literature.

Community Objectives

- To lead in shaping a
reflective ecological literacy in the constituency of the College and in the
general public.

- To share our individual and
collective professional expertise with the constituency of the College and
the general public through seminars, workshops, and informal education in
the community

- To support biological and
environmental education in local and regional primary and secondary schools.